Presentation Details
| Reward contrast mitigates choice overload in foraging bumblebees Claire Hemingway1, 2, 3, Olivia Harris1, 3, Phoebe Riser1, 3, Victoria Nalls1, Griffin Ward1, Jessie Tanner1, 2, 3. 1University of Tennessee, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.2University of Tennessee, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.3University of Tennessee, Collaborative for Animal Behavior, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.4Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa Panama |
Abstract
Decision makers often benefit from multiple options, but increasing the number of alternatives can degrade performance when cognitive limits are reached, known as choice overload. In humans, choice overload reduces decision accuracy and increases decision latency, particularly when options are similar. Whether non-human animals experience comparable constraints during ecologically relevant decisions remains unclear. We tested whether foraging bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) experience choice overload when encountering multiple flower types and whether it depends on reward structure. In experiments, bees encountered a higher-reward target flower and either 1, 3 or 5 lower-reward distractor types. We manipulated reward contrasts between targets and distractors, and overall choice-set quality, and measured choice accuracy and latency. The effect of option number on accuracy depended on reward contrast: bees maintained high accuracy when differences were large, but not when they were similar. Overall choice-set quality did not affect accuracy. These results indicate bumblebees are sensitive to assortment complexity, but overload is reduced when reward differences are salient.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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